]]>In the type of story that always seems to surface on Sunday mornings when you least expect it, Phillip Seymour Hoffman has been found dead in his NYC apartment. Deadline and other outlets are reporting a drug overdose, which would be consistent with his 2013 entry into rehab for heroin addiction.

Beginning with his work in Scent of a Woman, Hoffman was one of the most decorated character actors in Hollywood, serving as P.T. Anderson regular, and most recently making himself known to the little ones as the rebel gamemaker in Hunger Games.

Myself? I liked his movie-stealing turn as Lester Bangs in Almost Famous.

No further significant details are known at the time, but this news presumably will make a lot of people very sad.

]]>Phillip Seymour Hoffman is a pretty funny guy, but historically, his funniness or “humor,” if you will, is largely derived from being creepy or weird. Which works well in a supporting role, but might be a lot to take should he step into a starring role of a weekly comedy.

That’s my theory, and Trending Down, the newest pilot to hit Showtime, will put that theory to the test. In the comedy series, Hoffman would play an advertising exec (IT’S BEEN DONE, SHOWTIME!) who loses relevance as his company gets taken over.

While the prospect of all Hoffman, all the time might be a little daunting, there’s no chance that audiences will just kind of, sort of like it. Hoffman’s presence is polarizing, and this will likely not keep the audience that PSH brings in due to his well-maintained notoriety.

If the participation of an established comedy name is what you’re looking for, Trending Down has that in Kathryn Hahn (Wanderlust, Girls, Parks and Recreation) who will be playing the female lead.

]]>Few things in life get as uncomfortable as watching a man cry. Granted, there are often good reasons for a man, woman, or child to cry, but they don’t make the situation any less awful. This awkwardness is compounded when the man crying is in a movie. In person, you have an obligation to tend to the man in distress and make sure he’s OK. When watching a film, you don’t know whether to laugh or cry with him or just look at the wall of the theater until it’s all over.

These clips represent a few of the films that have crying scenes so awkward that your only choice is to turn away and repeat, “This isn’t happening. This isn’t happening.” It’s horrible. Just horrible.

Fortunately, no other characters are around to experience this champion cry by the pudgy, tank-topped Scotty, but that doesn’t really do much to make things better for the audience. Scotty really lets loose after Dirk refuses a sensual open mouth kiss. Scotty misread the situation pretty awesomely, and now he will spend the next minute or so reminding himself that he’s a “f*ckin’ idiot.”